Despite an impressive second half, the Buckeyes have a lot of things to work on and worry about in the coming weeks. First, I've got a confession to make. I hate Jake Locker. It's not even his fault. He has done nothing to me. I hadn't even heard of the man until a week ago, but as I was watching last Saturday's games I heard him mentioned and fawned over on THREE different channels over the span of five minutes. He’s all I heard about for the last week. The way people were talking about this guy would make you think that he is Peyton Manning combined with Vince Young.

He turned out to be exactly what I expected: an ultra-talented freshman starter with questionable accuracy and decision making. He will be a monster by his junior season, but can we hold off on the accolades until he has actually done something? He finished 16/33 for 153 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, and over 100 yards rushing. He routinely made Buckeyes defenders (especially Marcus "No Wrap" Freeman) look foolish and picked up meaningful yards in all situations.

While I'd love to have him on the OSU roster, he looked completely average (even below average) throwing the ball. Hopefully sideline reporter and Jake Locker lover Jack Arute can now abstain from giving the viewers the brilliant insight that Locker "isn't even breathing hard" after a short drive and proclaiming that "he is a freak" because of this. Thanks a lot, Jack. I'm glad you still have a job. You've contributed exactly as much as every sideline reporter at every game, and that is...less than nothing. I don't know if I've ever been more annoyed by a broadcast than I was in the first half of yesterday's game. As for the Buckeyes, they looked exactly like they did in the National Championship game for the first two quarters Saturday. Crappy zone blitzes on every passing down that did nothing. If you have the best athletes on the field, as OSU did, it's okay to put them out there in man coverage from time to time.

The Buckeyes defense appears to be almost identical to last year's in that they will fool people in the first half of the season by playing bend but don't break defense and coming up with turnovers at the most opportune times. Unfortunately, it seems just as likely that they will get blown up by the more talented offenses they face, and I don't know that they can outscore a lot of people. Cornerback Donald Washington was playing the softest zone and man defenses I think I've ever seen. He was getting beat routinely on short patterns and got owned several times. This is a major concern because the other corner, Malcolm Jenkins, is almost unbeatable. Therefore, teams will be looking to exploit Washington, and it appears that they will be able to do just that.

The defense also concerned me with the amount of missed tackles they had. They whiffed on several seemingly sure sacks in the first half and got beat by Jake Locker almost every time he left the pocket.Thankfully, James Laurinaitis can always be counted on to make the big plays. In the second half alone he had a sack and two interceptions, including one where he slapped the ball to himself on an attempted Locker shovel pass. He is a guy who has earned his hype and makes plays all over the field every single game.As for the offense, they looked stagnant in the first half. While the pass protection was superb all game long, the offensive line seemed to collapse on every run up the middle. Chris Wells ended the half with over 70 yards, but that was a combination of about 10 runs for a yard apiece and three or four bigger runs.

In the second half, the O-line put it all together. Wells and Brandon Saine tore through the Huskies defense en route to over 215 combined yards and two scores. One of those scores came on the last play of the game and only happened because Tyrone Willingham decided it was a good idea to call timeout with under a minute to play, his team down two scores, and Ohio State having the ball in Washington territory. The only man who couldn't get it done on the ground was Maurice "Nine Toes" Wells (he actually has ten toes to my knowledge, but my friend came up with this ridiculous nickname and it has stuck in my head). M. Wells is getting touches because Jim Tressel is a loyal guy to his upperclassmen. Unfortunately, Wells can't break tackles and makes too many moves in the backfield to get momentum through the holes the O-line creates. He had a 14 yard run and then combined for 7 yards on his other six carries. In my opinion, the more touches Brandon Saine gets, the better off this team will be.One guy who people should start talking about is wide receiver Brian Robiskie. He's got deceptive speed and excellent hands, and he torched the Washington defensive backfield several times.

Quarterback Todd Boeckman missed him twice, but on the third try he hit Robiskie in stride for a 68 yard touchdown. Combined with Brian Hartline (this year's version of Anthony Gonzalez), Ray Small, and several talented underclassmen, the Buckeyes have a formidable receiving corps. If Todd Boeckman can avoid the horrifying throws he made during the first half, then OSU has a chance to be really good. I just don't see it happening on a consistent basis.The officiating in this game was atrocious. If I was a Washington fan, I would be pissed. There were several obvious facemasks and personal fouls, especially against Jake Locker, that went uncalled. They also blew a call on a Boeckman throw that slipped out of his hand before his arm came forward, making it a fumble. Washington recovered and returned it for a score, but the call on the field was an incomplete pass, and that can't be reviewed. It would have changed the entire complexion of the game.

Another atrocious element of this game was the broadcast I was subjected to on ESPN. The announcers took a page out of Harry Caray's book by completely ignoring the game for long stretches, failing to inform us about penalties or the fact that there was a game being played. The play-by-play guy also decided that he would be a trail blazer by calling the snaps for kicks and punts "passes". For some reason, this was infuriating to me. On one play, the announcer called a Brian Hartline first down catch an interception, even though the cornerback didn't have the ball and the referee signaled a Buckeye first down. Simply stunning. I've already explained where I'm at with Jack Arute. Despite all the flaws in the refereeing, the broadcast, and the Ohio State team, it turned out to be a good Saturday. I can now sleep better with the hope that I can go one day without hearing about Jake Locker, football god.

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JEH45 said:

Onearmed: A couple of thoughts re the game and your article. As a qualifier, I didn't see the Akron game. First of all, I also had not heard of jake Locker until this week past and yes, I got sick of hearing about him. The boy can run and Freeman can not deliver a blow/nor tackle. Re Donald Washington, I'm not sure he isn't doing what he is supposed to do, and if he is a real problem back there, didn't see that. The Huskys tried to pick on Chekwa(sp), when we were in the nickel, and he seemed to hang in there. I assume this was his first real challenge. Defensive interior line seemed to play OK. Could it be our best Dend is a freshman-if so, this is trouble. Freeman is a problem. I expected to see grant making more plays than he has. Overall, our D faced its biggest challenge to date and did OK. Offensively, our line opened holes-hurray! Our QB found hartline. Small got some action. Our runners can run. Looked like improvement to me. To my unintellegent eyes this looked like a team that improved from game 1 to game 3. Isn't it Tressel that says the season is a journey? I'm fairly happy with the journey so far. Sure, we have problems-lost a lot of talent, but we travelled, experienced a hostile environ and won. This is all ok by me. Now, we need to continue to see improvement. Oh, and by the way-Isn't it amazing how many big plays JL makes.

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September 17, 2007
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Nick Petrello said:

I tend to be ultra-critical of the Buckeyes because I'm such a huge fan. I expect nothing but the best. What I saw in the first half was disconcerting, but hteyl ooked great in the second half, and I hope it's a turning point for the team this season. I agree that they have improved, but I'm looking at them on a national scale rather than just a game by game basis. Having watched all of the top 10 teams several times, I think it's safe to say that the Buckeyes are not in the top tier right now. While I'd like to believe a National Championship is possible this year, I just don't see them on the same level as USC, LSU, Florida, or Oklahoma. Our defense looks too much like it did last year, at least to this point. That abomination of a National Title game soured me on Jim Heacock because I didn't think he made the adjustments needed to slow down Florida's attack. I just hope he wises up this year so that the Bucks can get by the likes of Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

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September 17, 2007
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JEH45 said:

	Onearmed: I just saw Donald Washington grades out very well for his performance against Washington and was recognized by the staff for this. I think your problem with Washington has more to do with the scheme than with him. I also would like to see a press coverage package installed as the season progresses.
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September 17, 2007
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Nick Petrello said:

	If that is the case then my apologies to our #2 corner. It seemed to me like a lot of passes were completed to his side of the field, in both man and zone situations. The coaching staff would know better than I since they were the ones calling the plays, so I guess I'll have to reserve judgment on Washington until later in the season.
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September 17, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	Brandon Saine, Dionte Johnson are both questionable. Sanzenbaucher is out, so Ray Small will have to step up.
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September 20, 2007
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